Beltane

BELTANE
MAY DAY MAYA
PLEIADIAN GODDESS
BRIGHT LIGHT OF THE 7 SISTERS
MOUNTAIN NYMPH TRANSFORMED
WE ASCEND YOUR BEACON MOUND
& KINDLE THERE
THE OAKWOOD OF THE BEL–FIRE
TO RIVAL THE SUN
& CALL THE SUMMER HEAT
ZEUS’S LOVER
HERMES’ MOTHER
INSPIRE PROCESSIONS
OF CHIMNEY SWEEPS & MILK MAIDS
TO LEAP THE HEALING FLAMES
& SKY–CLAD SINGING :
‘ RIDE A COCK HORSE TO BANBURRY CROSS
TO SEE A FINE LADY ON A WHITE HORSE ‘
WALK THE CIRCUIT
& BEAT THE BOUNDS
WITH THE YOUNG SUMMER KING
& THE QUEEN OF THE MAY
FOR THE FEAST OF FLOWERS
IS CALLING FORTH THE CONSORT
COME, COME, COME, UNTO ME
& CELEBRATE WITH THE ORDERS OF ELEMENTALS
BOLD MAIDENS BATHING IN THE DEW OF MAY MORNING
SWORD DANCING & DRINKING
IN DEEP FOREST FRIVOLITY
STRIKING OPEN ANCIENT LEY LINES
IN BULLS EYE ARCHERY
MARKING THE UNRESTRAINED TRYST
A MAYPOLE IN HOLY-ROOD- MAS
WRAPPED & WEAVED IN RIBBONS & IVY
FOR THE MAY EVE RITES
ROBIN HOOD MAKES READY THE HUNT
MAID MARIAN HAS GONE-A-MAYING
~Lady Hazel

Here’s more Lore to Re-Member:
Beltane – the old Celtic name for May Day, means bright fire or fire of Bel – the name of the Solar
force, whose feast marks the beginning of the 2nd half of the year. Wood from 9 sacred trees is
gathered, & the great Bel-fire is built & ritualistically ignited by the High priestess or Arch-Druid.

The people would jump these ‘need-fires’ for fertility, healing & protection. Torches lit from it
were carried home to re-light the hearth fires. They would walk the animals in-between them to ensure a productive season, this is the mating season after all for man & beast.

There were other May Day customs- like walking the circuit of one’s property, repairing fences & boundary markers, processions of all kinds, archery tournaments, Morris dances, sword play, & of course making merry with music & drinking…

May morning is a time when the veil between the worlds can easily be pushed aside, but instead of the spirits coming into our realm from the other side, which is the case with Halloween, the polar opposite of Mayday on the wheel of the year, the fairies can enchant us over into their mystical realms. This is a magical time, perfect for gathering ‘wild’ water – especially the May morning dew, or water from hidden wells & springs. These wild waters were collected & used to bath in for beauty, or to drink for health.

May Day is considered the start of summer – the time of milk & honey. This sensuous, fertile energy is totally universal, & can be applied on many different levels. When we acknowledge these creative forces in the dance of our lives, it takes us to our own personal, modern-day version of dancing around the maypole, where we weave & combine the opposing energies within ourselves, blending them into one balanced source.

So yes, whether you know it or not, there will be at least one song that plays in your
sub-conscious head that 1st day of May, when you are the Queen of the May
or Jack-in the Green, for this ancient May Day ritual! Our body, like the body of the earth, instinctively knows it’s Beltane – the time of vitality & passion & new growth.
And the wisdom of our spirit seeks the natural union of polarities that occur at this time,

giving us the opportunity for integration, in the alchemical dance of our souls.
Because under all the sexual innuendo & frivolity, it’s really all about the inner mystic marriage, the symbolic union of fire & water, opposites complimenting each other, to become one, bringing all the elements into balance.

You’ll just have to go dancing naked in the forest preserve on your own time…!
For now, lets work to unify the polarities of our being, by sparking the new fire of creative fertility & passion, & marrying it with the beautiful, healing waters of compassion & pure love.

So we can truly celebrate the marriage feast of our lives, with a grounded, mindful joy.
So if it is your will, light your Bel-fire, marry it to the water, by floating it in the chalice of
your choice, take the time you need there, to do or not, what you will…Whisper your
marriage vows into the water, or dance the 1st dance, or smash the glass…

Whatever your ceremony calls for – short simple or silent, it doesn’t matter –
a 3 day bacchanal, with dancing puppets, it’s all good, cause it’s all about what’s inside.